This drink helps you blast 50% more belly fat – without diet or exercise

JUICE BOOST: Guzzling down a glass of this drink per day can aid weight loss

You’d never suspect it, but tomato juice has been hailed as a miracle weight loss drink.

According to a study, published in the journal Nutrition, sipping on a daily glass of tomato juice can drastically slim your waistline – without you needing to make any other changes to your diet.

Researchers found that women who guzzled a 280ml glass of the veggie drink each day lost 50% more belly fat over an eight-week period.

What’s more, most of the ladies lost more than a pound in body weight and the tasty beverage also reduced cholesterol levels.

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Researchers said: “These results show that daily tomato juice supplementation reduces waist circumference, as well as serum cholesterol and inflammatory adipokine levels in young healthy women and that these effects are unrelated to body fat changes.”

A further study found that tomato juice can reduce oxidative stress in overweight women which could in turn boost general health and help prevent obesity-related diseases.

But how does the juicy red fruit help slimmers lose weight?

It’s thanks to tomato juice’s high levels of lycopene – an antioxidant which was shown to increase the production of metabolism-boosting hormone adiponectin by 25%.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Star Online, Shona Wilkinson, nutritionist at SuperfoodUK, explained why tomatoes are such a good food for weight loss.

She said: “Tomatoes are relatively low in calories and carbohydrates and have a high water content.

“This means they help to fill you up for relatively few calories, encouraging an overall lower calorie intake. Tomato juice could help simply as a lower-sugar, lower-calorie alternative to fruit juices or soft drinks.

“Tomato juice could help simply as a lower-sugar, lower-calorie alternative to fruit juices or soft drinks”

Shona Wilkinson, nutritionist

“As well as providing fewer calories, it’s far less likely to cause blood sugar swings than fruit juices, helping to keep your appetite under control and prevent any further sugar or carbohydrate cravings later in the day. It could also be a good drink to have instead of a snack between meals to keep you going.

“Like other vegetables and fruits, both tomatoes and tomato juice also provide natural minerals and vitamins that help to satisfy your body, help to convert food to energy and support your metabolism.

“However, just adding tomatoes or tomato juice to an unhealthy or high-calorie diet without making any other changes is unlikely to result in weight loss. You will still need to eat a healthy diet with plenty of whole foods, lots of vegetables and protein and eliminating processed foods and treats to see good results.”

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APRICOTS - Calorie content: 12 kcals per apricotEating apricots is said to help reduce the risk of strokes, and heart attacks. They're also full of vitamin C, potassium and dietary fibre, which all promote good heart health

Shona added: “Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, which is well known for its antioxidant benefits.

"Lycopene has been found to be protective for the heart and may help protect the skin against sun damage and ageing.

“It may also be protective against certain cancers.

"Tomatoes also contain a variety of other antioxidants such as lutein, beta-carotene, and flavanols.”

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